does anyone know if juice is split on computer tower does it do any damage?

Question

juice was spilt on my computer tower by accident it keeps tripping out will this do any damage or will it dry out and be ok?

Answer 1

ok, this sounds like the juice as got inside to the compnents.
first don't panic. you should be able to salvage your computer, you will need a few things to do this such as paper towels/tissues to mop up any liquid. if the liquid you spilt was sticky (such as cola or other fizzy sugary drink) then you want a pack of cotton buds (the cotton wool on sticks, i say that because different parts of the world refer to them differently).
you will need some water though not a lot just a little to be able to clean up the sticky goo.

first things first, turn off your computer and disconnect from the mains and remove all peripheral connection (printer, USB drives/devices, monitor, keyboard and mouse etc..)
now find a screwdriver to remove the side pannels of the tower so you can get to the internal components.
now you are in, look at the side panels you removed first, and clean them as best you can to remove the mess from them.
(use normal houshold washing up liquid and a sponge or cloth to clean then wipe dry do not let drip dry as drip drying may cause the panels to rust.

next make sure to discharge any static electricity in your body and clothes before you touch inside the computer, for this you can either leave the computer plugged into the mains with the switch in the off possition (both the socket on the wall and the computers own Power switch on the PSU) or use an anti-static wrist srap connected to a properly earthed/ grounded area.

you now need to look (you may need a torch/ flashlight) inside the computer case to identify where the water/ sticky goo landed. now use the tissues to mop up the mess.
if the mess is sticky then grab a soft cloth (on the case (NOT on circuit boards) dampend ever so slightly to enable easy removal of the sticky goo.
next if the mess has got on the circuit boards you need to use the cotton buds slighty damp (not soaking or you may end up doing more damage to the computer) to clean up the boards.
use tissues to clean up any other hardware that may have got wet and or sticky as a result of the accident.

and in the future put a table behind you or at the side of you to put your drinks on so you do not have this accident happen again.

if you do not want to attemp this clean up yourself then take itto a professional to clean. you may be charged a small fortune £100 plus to do the work. however be warry of them telling you you need any new components as you should not need any as a result of this spill, unless the moisture got into the PSU or the cmos battery then you may need a new battery or a new fuse in the PSU (although the computer you say keeps tripping out, which could mean the psu may have a problem, or the moisture is causing a short on the main power connector.
either way it should be able to be cleaned (depending on the level or the amount of liquid that got inside the case and on he damage the liquid caused).

how could this juice spill have happened anyway?
the only way juice could have got in your tower is either you threw the liquid at the front drive bays, or the CD-R draw was open, or the tower was on one side and wthe juice leaked through the air vents on the side (where fitted) or the juice got in via the air vents or PSU at the rear of the system.
which means someone most likely was playing with a water gun.

in a normal situation the only other way is if the drink had been deliberately spilt on the case and left to seep into the case via the gap wher the front control panel connects to the metalic part of the case. assuming the case was correctly fitted and closed.

whatever the reason, it should be easy to clean up.if not then new compnents may need to be purchased. I'd suggest first attempting to connect a new PSU to the mother board, if that solves the system tripping then the PSU you had in may need to be repaired or replaced (a relatively cheap component, a 650W PSU here in the UK can be yours for under £45 DELIVERED NEW).
if the PSU fails to solve the problem then it is a case of identifying the problem internally such as the ram, CPU and the motherboard it self. then replace the damaged or faulty parts.

i stress if you do not know what you are doing take to a proffessional to be serviced. Insist on waiting while they do the work. if they insist they can not do the work while you wait, have them remove your hard drive(s) and give the drive to you to take home while the work is done. (if you do not take this step then your computer may get back to you with all your data removed and or lost forever especially if they decide to force a new hard drive on you or format your old one as part of testing, no reputible repair centre or tech needs to format a drive unless installing a brand new driove, exosting drives can be chacked harmlessly easily with a wide range of existing software.
I almost forgot, before you attempt any cleaning inside the system, boot to cmos/bios now make a note of the settings so you can restore them once you have finished your system maintenance as you will be best advised to remove the cmos battery during cleaning meaning that the bios data will be lost and so need to be manually reset when you next power on the system.
ok once the bios is copied down you can safely power down the computer and begin your cleaning process. and remove the bios battery. I'd be inclined to install a new battery when you finish cleaning so make a note of the battery number probably a cr2032 button cell available from most retailers. oh and if the battery you see is DR2032 not CR2032 don't worry they are intergangable (different brands use a different code in front of the digits).

good luck.

Answer 2

Only time will tell if it will do any damage. The fact that it was juice means that it won't fully dry out because there is probably sugar in the juice.

If your computer is still working now, then it should be okay.

You might want to ask someone who knows what they're doing to open the case and clean out any residue.

As long as the liquid doesn't get onto any of the printed circuit boards or components means you should be okay.

Answer 3

It may do some damage it may not u will just have to wait and see to wether it does any damage but if it is still working now then u should be fine but I would recomend taking it to a computer store and getting them to clean out the residue from the sugar in the juice if something does happen it may be the circuit board or it may have fryed the processer or the motherboard and if the worst comes to the worst then I would take it to the shop or get a new computer ;)

Answer 4

You may have errors on your hard drive from when it tripped so make sure you run a scan when your computer is back to normal (which might be a while). Hopefully it should be OK, although as juice is acidic, it could do some damage.

Answer 5

I think its just pot luck as to whether its ok again. Try putting the tower into an airing cupboard overnight to help it dry out completely. Good luck!

Answer 6

depends my friend spilt juice on hers it worked for a week then decided never to work again
hope its ok

Answer 7

clean it with dry cloth or tissue, nothing should happen if it does not get inside and wetten electrical devices while they are working.
Swich off & unplug to let it dry if needed.